1RomanceEB Chapter 1078 - 951: Would You Like to Consider It?
Chapter 1078 - 951: Would You Like to Consider It?
Returning to the Cheng Family, Zhang Guoqing first called his father-in-law’s office, but nobody answered. He thought about it and realized it was wishful thinking; his father-in-law was in a meeting, so how could he be at the unit?He figured his father-in-law’s trip to the hospital tonight would be in vain.
As soon as they got home, Zhou Jiao couldn’t even manage to speak with everyone. When Aunt Chen brought over the items, she went directly to the kitchen, declined her aunt’s help, and started making lean meat porridge.
The old lady had just recovered from a cold and was weak, so Zhou Jiao was truly not comfortable leaving the diet to someone else. Therefore, she carefully wrote down some medicinal recipes midway and handed them, along with ginkgo and mung beans, to Aunt Cheng.
"Jiao Jiao, the boy is sleepy. I’ll take them back first and come back later," Zhang Guoqing said as he stepped into the kitchen and saw his tired-looking wife. He was hesitant to remind her to rest because Aunt Cheng was present, regretting having dragged her into an argument.
Zhou Jiao blinked at him, "Take care of the kids, I’ll return after the old lady drinks the porridge."
"I’ll handle it here. Once it’s boiled, just add some salt, right? You guys have been riding in the car for so long, you must be exhausted. Go back and rest, if anything comes up, I’ll call you," Aunt Cheng said, ushering Zhou Jiao out.
Zhang Guoqing nodded slightly at Aunt Cheng, "Thank you, Aunt. Jiao Jiao, go sit with Aunt Grandma for a while. It seems Little Aunt and the others are looking for you for something."
For something?
Zhou Jiao rubbed her face, regained some energy, and gently opened the half-closed door of the old lady’s bedroom, only to see the old lady had already closed her eyes out of exhaustion, and several people beside her were about to leave the room.
Cheng Ruzhu, while linking arms with Miao Lishan, motioned a "shush" to her. The three of them quietly tiptoed out, carefully closing the door behind them.
"Where’s my Uncle Grandfather?"
Cheng Ruzhu pointed to the study, whispering, "He took the kids inside. Come on, let’s go to my room and talk. Xiao Wu, you come too."
Even after being married for over a decade, Cheng Ruzhu still had her bedroom in her maternal home. But since her husband’s family was in Beijing, it was usually Yu who stayed there.
Zhang Guoqing felt a bit strange—was he turning into some women’s group leader? Of course, that was a joke. He guessed Cheng Ruzhu had something important to discuss, so he just smiled, nodded, and kept silent.
Once the room was open, Cheng Ruzhu was the last to enter. She even peeked her head around to check outside before locking the door, then turned around with an excited face.
Zhang Guoqing glanced at his wife, his mouth involuntarily twitched. No wonder she always said that Cheng Ruzhu and Miao Lishan were alike, both having a girlish heart no matter their age.
Cheng Ruzhu lowered her voice, "Let me tell you, there’s a gathering this weekend about handling items. Do you want to come along?"
Zhou Jiao glanced at her in surprise. Is this really such a big deal to be so secretive?
Miao Lishan seemed to have some inside information, "Who did you hear it from? I heard there would be quite a few people attending."
Cheng Ruzhu shot her a sideways glance and laughed, "Who else? The old lady got an invitation. Otherwise, do I qualify to attend? Did your brother tell you?"
Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao exchanged glances, somewhat understanding the nature of this gathering.
Miao Lishan neither confirmed nor denied it. In the earlier years, she had attended these gatherings. There were war spoils, customs-confiscated items—these things needed to be dealt with. Compared to outside, internal prices were surely cheaper, but it was easy for disputes to arise during purchases.
"Jiao Jiao, want to go?"
Seeing her mother smile without speaking, Zhou Jiao immediately shook her head.
Cheng Ruzhu laughed happily, "Won’t you consider it?"
Miao Lishan looked at her daughter, "Most are handled goods. Your dad said if you’re interested, you could have a look; they’re all acquaintances."
Privilege never goes unnoticed. Though their family had stabilized, who knew how many people were still waiting to catch a slip-up? Her dad was worried for her; she couldn’t act recklessly.
"I better not. Too many people are too noisy." Zhou Jiao spoke while seeing Zhang Guoqing about to say something, she gently shook her head. No matter how good the relationship, don’t meddle in others’ affairs. They might already know the ins and outs.
"Well, if you need anything, Little Aunt can get it for you."
Zhou Jiao’s downturned eyes flashed a moment, then she smiled up, "Doesn’t seem like I’m missing anything. Little Aunt, just be careful."
Cheng Ruzhu saw this and didn’t push it. The opportunity was rare, but this child had her reasons and principles; she could act accordingly when the time comes.
Miao Lishan noticed Zhou Jiao looking at her and smiled, "We’ll talk about it later. There’s a long time to go, who knows there might be a last-minute notice for me to lead a group to the grassroots level."
"True, let’s see how things go then. It’s getting late; I’ll take you all back first."
Zhou Jiao hesitated for a moment, "Let’s wait till Aunt Grandma has had the porridge."
"You guys go back first; I’ll sleep here tonight." Seeing Zhou Jiao still hesitate, she widened her eyes, "What? Not listening?"
Zhou Jiao laughed.
She had also checked the old lady’s pulse just now. This cold and fever were considered over. Now that her body was still weak, keeping that in mind, she didn’t insist and nodded.
"That’s more like it." Cheng Ruzhu said, opening the door first, just in time to see Mr. Cheng with the three kids in the living room, "Look at our three treasures."
Zhou Jiao had long noticed her son secretly wiping his eyes, especially since Liu Yi and Wu Yi were covering their mouths, yawning. She knew that when the lights-out signal rang, the kids wouldn’t be able to hold out.
There were some other things as well... They needed to be placed in the open while heading back home, things that needed to be dealt with tonight.
...
Back home, Zhou Jiao urged her mom and the kids to go to sleep first while she waited for her dad to return and helped Zhang Guoqing organize their things.
After being away for so many days, her biggest miss was her dad. She wondered how his business trip had gone, whether Beijing had had any new developments, and needed to report their hometown matters to her father.
The five boxes of treasures mentioned by the tall one were confirmed after returning to Zhang Family Village without any disturbances. As said, each piece was terribly valuable.
Those porcelains, calligraphy, and ornaments were on par with Zhou Family heirlooms; even Zhou Jiao, who had seen many treasures, was amazed.
Even though there were no marks or inscriptions on them, concerning antique items, Zhou Jiao felt it best for her expert father to see them first. She might discover some unknown stories about them.
Zhou Xiaozheng just waved Secretary Chen and the service soldiers to rest, only to see his wife, daughter, and son-in-law greet him upon return. "Why are you still up so late?"
Zhou Jiao pursed her lips, "Weren’t you not back yet? Can your body handle being so late every day? Dad, have a bit to eat then rest."
"Silly girl! Is everything okay outside? No one bullied you, right?"
"Who dares to bully your daughter?" Zhou Jiao quickly went up to him and held his arm, "Everything’s fine back home. My brother and I even visited Beidahuang to see Commander Chen’s kids."
"Why’d you go so far?" Zhou Xiaozheng patted her head, then turned to Zhang Guoqing, "Have you spent time with your parents? Did you tell them to visit here when they have time?"
"I did. They still prefer staying back home. Before coming here, we also left some things for them."
"How are Ping’an and the others doing over there?"
"They’re doing well. Just now, the three brothers insisted on staying awake to wait for you, but Jiao Jiao chased them upstairs making them sleep. Do you have a meeting tonight?"